NICHINAN, Miyazaki -- Approaching the Nichinan Cultural Center here from the north, with its jagged roof standing stark against the sky, one cannot help but be reminded of looming mountain peaks.

The cultural center, designed by the Pritzker Architecture Prize winner Kenzo Tange (1913-2005), is a two-story concrete structure. The motif of the building is said to be the mountains of the Nichinan region and the "Devil's Washboard" rocks like piled-up slabs on the Nichinan coast.

Looking closer, one can see that there are no straight vertical lines on the exterior, with the walls all sloping upward. They also have long, narrow openings and protruding water drains, giving the building an overall rugged impression. Walking inside, one might lose their sense of balance because of the slanted walls.

The cultural center was built in 1962 to commemorate the 10th anniversary of Nichinan's incorporation as a city and was financed by profits from the transfer of an electric power business operated by an association of Nichinan and surrounding municipalities. When the cultural center was being considered, there were opinions that priority should be given to road construction, but a majority of citizens demanded the center.

Many people from inside and outside the prefecture come to see the only building by Tange in the Kyushu region.

(Japanese original by Minoru Kanazawa, Kyushu Photo and Video Department)

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The Japanese version of this article was originally published on Feb. 6, 2022.

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